Wordle Wins Worldwide With Wit
Newly acquired word game has quickly become school’s new interest.
By Abigail Shlimenzon
Newly acquired word game has quickly become school’s new interest.
By Abigail Shlimenzon
With the rise of technology came the rise of video games, online games, and other forms of online entertainment. Although these became very popular with millions of consumers, this new market was quickly saturated with different games, making it hard for many to stand out from the rest of the crowd. However, Wordle, a web based word game, was able to do just that.
Wordle was released to the public in October 2021, and a month later it had a mere 90 players. Despite its slow start, the game began to gain momentum and by the start of this month had over 2 million players.
Wordle has many similarities with other word games, however what makes it stand out is its simplicity. Players are given six attempts to guess a five-letter word, once per day, and the game gives clues based on the letters of previous guesses.
“I like how it’s just a fun little brain game that you can do everyday for five minutes,” said Leah Bharucha, 11.
Because the game is so short and engaging it can be played anywhere and at any time. Math teacher Aruna Renduchintala has been using Wordle as an engaging and collaborative class activity during five minute breaks.
“It’s good for collaboration between students. It’s also good entertainment for the kids and teachers together and is a great way for teachers to make a connection with students,” said Renduchintala.
Another unique quality that has helped Wordle climb its way to popularity was its score sharing feature. By making it so simple for users to share their scores with family and friends, Wordle was able to turn a seemingly individual game into a group competition.
“I play Wordle because I enjoy solving puzzles and it’s also fun comparing with friends and family to see what they got,” said Owen Souza, 11.
The score sharing feature has also enabled for people across the world to connect and share their love for Wordle.
“We have students, we have friends all over the world in a chat group only for Wordle,” said Renduchintala. “Sometimes from India to here the words are spelled differently so figuring out how to spell the words in this country to that country is a fun challenge.”
This game’s fast rise to popularity and loyal user base prompted its purchase by the New York Times, in the website’s effort to expand its collection of games. Although many users were initially worried that this change in ownership would have a negative effect on the game, to many users’ relief there has been little alterations made to the game.
“I played Wordle before the New York Times purchased it and I thought initially when they bought it, it might change the game and ruin it. However, luckily, nothing has noticeably been changed by the New York Times, and it’s still free. I really don’t mind who owns Wordle as long as I can enjoy it,” said Souza.
Many variations of Wordle have been created since its rise to popularity. These variations had various rates of success, but many users were excited to experiment with different versions of their favorite word game.
“It started as a fun game with a group of my undergrad friends and as we started working on it, we now do Wordle, Dordle, Quordle, Octadle, Nerdle, and we do Worldle as well, so we do it all,” said Renduchintala.
Not only is Wordle a simple, user friendly game that draws in millions of players daily, but it is also beneficial mentally.
“I think it’s going to improve people’s spelling. It’s also going to improve people’s language in terms of just thinking about what letters go together,” said chemistry teacher Laura Bald.
Wordle continues to impress users who come back daily to engage in witty entertainment.
“I like how there is only one word everyday because it doesn’t become over-saturated,” said Souza. “Wordle is very entertaining because there is always a chance I won’t be able to get the word and that adds some excitement.”
Wordle was released to the public in October 2021, and a month later it had a mere 90 players. Despite its slow start, the game began to gain momentum and by the start of this month had over 2 million players.
Wordle has many similarities with other word games, however what makes it stand out is its simplicity. Players are given six attempts to guess a five-letter word, once per day, and the game gives clues based on the letters of previous guesses.
“I like how it’s just a fun little brain game that you can do everyday for five minutes,” said Leah Bharucha, 11.
Because the game is so short and engaging it can be played anywhere and at any time. Math teacher Aruna Renduchintala has been using Wordle as an engaging and collaborative class activity during five minute breaks.
“It’s good for collaboration between students. It’s also good entertainment for the kids and teachers together and is a great way for teachers to make a connection with students,” said Renduchintala.
Another unique quality that has helped Wordle climb its way to popularity was its score sharing feature. By making it so simple for users to share their scores with family and friends, Wordle was able to turn a seemingly individual game into a group competition.
“I play Wordle because I enjoy solving puzzles and it’s also fun comparing with friends and family to see what they got,” said Owen Souza, 11.
The score sharing feature has also enabled for people across the world to connect and share their love for Wordle.
“We have students, we have friends all over the world in a chat group only for Wordle,” said Renduchintala. “Sometimes from India to here the words are spelled differently so figuring out how to spell the words in this country to that country is a fun challenge.”
This game’s fast rise to popularity and loyal user base prompted its purchase by the New York Times, in the website’s effort to expand its collection of games. Although many users were initially worried that this change in ownership would have a negative effect on the game, to many users’ relief there has been little alterations made to the game.
“I played Wordle before the New York Times purchased it and I thought initially when they bought it, it might change the game and ruin it. However, luckily, nothing has noticeably been changed by the New York Times, and it’s still free. I really don’t mind who owns Wordle as long as I can enjoy it,” said Souza.
Many variations of Wordle have been created since its rise to popularity. These variations had various rates of success, but many users were excited to experiment with different versions of their favorite word game.
“It started as a fun game with a group of my undergrad friends and as we started working on it, we now do Wordle, Dordle, Quordle, Octadle, Nerdle, and we do Worldle as well, so we do it all,” said Renduchintala.
Not only is Wordle a simple, user friendly game that draws in millions of players daily, but it is also beneficial mentally.
“I think it’s going to improve people’s spelling. It’s also going to improve people’s language in terms of just thinking about what letters go together,” said chemistry teacher Laura Bald.
Wordle continues to impress users who come back daily to engage in witty entertainment.
“I like how there is only one word everyday because it doesn’t become over-saturated,” said Souza. “Wordle is very entertaining because there is always a chance I won’t be able to get the word and that adds some excitement.”